Valentines Continued: Unfolding Flowers
by tilante
Summary: The M-rated continuation of my previous story, "Valentines". Valentine's Day through the years with Alex and Justin. AGP-verse.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is a continuation of my previous story _Valentines_, separated so that story can keep its lower rating. The 'episodes' in this story take place after Alex and Justin have begun having a sexual relationship.

This is also an AGP-verse story. You don't need to have read the previous stories to enjoy it.

For those of you following the series, this first part takes place after _Justin In Charge_, but before _Double Double, Toil and Trouble_. Justin is in college, while Alex is in high school. Harper is not living with the Russos.

* * *

><p>February 14, 2011<p>

"Hey."

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Alex turned and looked, then frowned at her friend Harper. "What?"

"You've been staring at that canvas for almost five minutes now, Alex. Are you okay?" Harper tried unsuccessfully to keep her expression neutral, failing to hide the concern she was feeling for her friend. It seemed like Alex had been withdrawing from her more and more over the past year - ever since Dean had broken up with her.

At first, it had seemed normal - Alex was always a bit on the emotional side, even if she tended to keep it bottled up, and Harper had quietly supported her friend, just as she always did. But now, they were talking less at night, rarely having sleepovers, and Alex seemed to be tired often. She'd always tended to zone out or fall asleep in class, but lately she was doing that even outside of class.

"I'm fine," Alex said, not _quite_ snapping it, and Harper moved up beside her, glanced around to make sure no one else in their art class was watching them. Mr. Laritate was across the room helping the new British boy with something, and everyone else was involved in their own work.

"No, you're not." Harper jabbed a finger at Alex's canvas, said, "You never leave a canvas blank this long. You can't stand something being that clean. Look... I know what the problem is."

Alex's head whipped around at that. "You do?"

"Of _course_ I do, Alex." Harper rolled her eyes. "I see a lot more of what's going on than people give me credit for. You should know that."

_She doesn't really know. Because if she really knew, she'd be freaking out at me. Yeah._ Shrugging a little, Alex said, "Okay, so you know. If you know, then you should know that..." She trailed off, knowing that Harper wouldn't be able to resist filling in. _Just like Justin._ The thought of Justin brought up a mixed surge of anger and want - the anger because Justin had insisted that she not ditch school for Valentine's Day. "I'll pick you up right after it," he'd promised, and that was the only thing getting her through this amazingly boring day.

"I know you're letting Justin take you out to try to cheer you up, and you're going to give him a big brave face, because you don't want him to know you're still so down about Dean after this long." Harper put a hand down and took one of Alex's, then smiled at her friend. "But that's okay. I'm going to come along tonight to help too."

* * *

><p>"Alex, slow down. You're talking too fast." Justin put a finger into his right ear and ducked his head down, trying to ignore the sounds of traffic as he walked between classes. Frowning in concentration as he listened, he suddenly blinked, his eyes getting wider as he did. "Wait… Harper invited herself along? And you let her?"<p>

"What was I supposed to do to stop her? Tell her 'oh, no, it's not the kind of date I can bring you along on'? Yeah, _that's_ a conversation I want to have with her." Alex paced back and forth in the girl's bathroom as she talked, having made sure that no one was in the stalls, then jammed the door with a spell. She stopped by one stall, grabbed the door and swung it back and forth with her hand as she kept going, still talking quickly.

"We can manage this. We can make duplicates and let Harper go off with them. Or I can wipe her memory. Or -"

"_No_," Justin said from the other end, stopping as he did so to pay full attention to the conversation. A few people gave him annoyed glances as they went around him, but most simply took it in stride. "She knows about - about the family business." Justin looked around as he said that, moving against a store window as he did.

"What, the sandwich shop?" Alex frowned and shook her head, stopped swinging the stall door. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"The _other_ family business, Alex. You know, the one Uncle Kelbo works in?"

"Uncle Kelbo works? Are we talking about the same Uncle Kelbo?"

Justin covered his face with his hand for a moment, took a deep breath, then said, "_Magic_, Alex. Harper knows about magic."

"Magic? How is that a family business?"

"Let's just… skip the family business thing, okay? If you use mag - if you do that, she's too likely to figure out that you did, and then she'll be wondering why, and then she'll realize something's wrong, and then she'll -"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Okay, I get it. But look, it'll work out. I'll just -"

"Alex, no. No means no. I'm going to be expecting to see Harper with you when I get you now. It's going to be fine. We'll have a not-date for show for her, then drop her off, then do our real date. Understood?"

"But -"

"That's not a 'but' question, Alex. Yes or no?"

Alex made an 'err' sound into the phone. "You know, I must really love you, because somehow, I'm managing to restrain myself from teleporting there and throwing something at you right now."

"I love you too," Justin said into the phone, smiling. "I'll see you _and Harper_ at four, okay?"

There was a sigh from the other end, then the click of the phone hanging up. Justin shook his head and rolled his eyes, then tucked his phone away and started walking toward his next class again. _This should be an interesting evening. Hope I live through it._


	2. Chapter 2

"So, Justin still hasn't found a girlfriend at college?"

"He's... focusing on his studies." Alex swung her foot back to kick the leg of the bench they were sitting on, looking away from Harper as she did. "He's gone out a few times."

"Really?" Even not looking at Harper, Alex could hear the frown in her voice. "With one girl, or with different ones?"

"Different ones." Alex opened her purse and dug for a compact. _Don't ask for names, don't ask for names, don't -_

"Oh. Do you know their names?"

_Of course._ Thinking quickly as she checked her makeup, Alex said, "The last couple of dates were with Gina. They're not really serious, though." _Yeah_, she thought, happy that she'd thought of gina - she lived in Justin's dorm, and knew about Justin and Alex, although she believed that the reason they had to keep things secret was that Alex was in high school, and Justin worked for her parents_. I can get her help if I need to._ _Just tell her Harper knows my parents and -_

"They must not be serious at all, if he's not taking her out for Valentine's. What does she look like?"

"I think you've seen her - about our height, kind of plump, brown hair, hippie clothes?"

"Oh, _her_. She's completely not right for him."

Alex had to smile at that. She turned back toward Harper, and found that she was sitting exactly the way Alex had imagined from the tone of her voice - slumped back, arms folded, with a disapproving look. "Yeah? Well... who _is_ right for Justin? I mean, besides you."

Harper turned sideways on the bench, looking at Alex, smiled sadly, and shook her head. "I don't know. After this long, I know he's not into me." The smile dropped, and seeing the expression on Harper's face, Alex bit her lip and reached out to cover Harper's nearer hand with her own.

"Hey... it's not that there's anything wrong with you. You know that, right? He just -"

Alex stopped then, not sure how to put what she was thinking, and Harper spoke, waving a hand in the air. "I know. He loves me, just not like that. More like a sister." Alex had to swallow hard then, to stifle the uncomfortable laugh that tried to escape at that. Afraid to open her mouth right that second, Alex simply nodded and patted Harper's hand as the other girl went on.

"He needs somebody smart enough to keep up with him. Somebody who'll get him the way he is, and not try to change him." She paused, then said, "And he needs somebody who can help him loosen up a little." Seeing Alex's frown, Harper waved a hand. "I know - I just said she shouldn't try to change him. But it's not really changing him, it's just... keeping him from going overboard, if you get what I mean."

Nodding slowly, Alex finally felt safe to speak. "Yeah, I think I do." Smiling a little, she said, "Seems like you've thought about this a lot."

Harper shrugged and looked up and to the side in faint embarrassment. "Well, you know... I spent a lot of time writing 'Mrs. Justin Russo' on things and thinking about what we'd be like together."

Alex laughed a little at that. "Yeah. Remember when he was dating Miranda, and you dressed up like a theater seat to spy on them?"

This time, Harper actually blushed. "Yeah, well... I wasn't as mature then." She paused, then asked, "Whatever happened with Miranda and him anyway?"

"You know," Alex said, frowning, "I don't really know. They just kind of... stopped after a month or two. I think she may have transferred schools or something, though, since we never really saw her around again after that."

Nodding, Harper said, "I think you're right. In fact -"

She was interrupted by a "Yello" as Justin was suddenly there, giving the two girls an off-hand wave, with a suddenness that made Alex wonder if he'd used magic, or if they'd just been that involved in the conversation.

Alex stood up, then gave Justin a wicked little smile and punched him in the arm, hard.

"Ah!" Justin jumped back a step and glared. "What was _that_ for?"

Holding the smile, she said, "From now on, whenever you say 'yello', I'm going to hit you. It's my little way of getting you to help you stop sounding like such a dork." She stepped forward, grabbing Justin's arm this time to keep him from stepping back, then went up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "Call it my Valentine's present for you."

Justin's mouth quirked as he uttered a dry, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Alex replied sweetly, completely ignoring his tone as she took his hand. Harper took his other hand, and the three of them walked to the curb, where Justin let go - of Harper's hand, but not hers, Alex was glad to note - to hail a cab.

One pulled over moments later, and Alex climbed in first, followed by Justin, then Harper. As the door swung closed, Justin said, "Okay, Burt. You know where to go."

"Oh, Burt! Hi!" Alex put her hand on the back of the front seat, rubbed it fondly. "How're you doing?"

"How'm I doing? Kid, have you seen the price of gas these days? It's getting so a talking cab can't make a living any more!" Burt merged into traffic, honking his horn as he did. "Hey, you! Yeah, you, the little blue Prius! Pick a lane and stay in it, why don'tcha?"

"You tell 'im, Burt." Alex turned back to Justin, said, "So… where are we going?"

Leaning back and putting his arms around both the girls, Justin smiled. "You'll see."


	3. Chapter 3

Justin smiled, listening to Alex and Harper's laughter. It wasn't bell-like, or even what a musician would call dulcet. In point of fact, Alex's laugh tended to turn into a bit of a snort, and Harper's always seemed a trifle uncomfortable, like she wasn't used to being able to really laugh openly - which considering her family, maybe shouldn't have been that surprising.

While the tones themselves might not be pleasing to the ear, though, the emotions behind them were definitely pleasing to Justin's heart. As much as he knew Alex loved him, and he her, Justin knew their new relationship had put a strain on her, even if she wouldn't admit it. Hearing and seeing her happily laughing was music to him, no matter what she was laughing about.

Alex and Harper were both skating well, better than Justin had expected - the last time they'd come to Lincoln Center for the ice skating was years ago, when Alex was twelve and he was fourteen. In spite of that, though, Alex had taken to the ice like it'd been just yesterday.

Justin, on the other hand….

"Here." Alex stopped and extended a hand to him as Harper came skating toward them, gliding slowly along. She'd stopped laughing, but was still grinning broadly, a hint of mischief twinkling in her eyes. Sure he'd regret it, Justin took her hand and started to get up.

Much to his surprise, though, the mischief in Alex's eyes wasn't directed at him - at least, not the way he'd imagined. As she pulled him up, Alex moved in smoothly, startling Justin with a quick kiss on the lips. With a "What?" Justin pulled back - and then fell again as his skates slid out from under him.

Skating up, Harper gave Alex a look - having only seen Justin falling, and not why - then offered her hand to Justin. "Well, _one_ of us appreciates this, Justin. I'd forgotten how much fun skating is!"

"Oh, I appreciate it," Alex said, skating a quick little circle that ended with her on the other side of Justin, taking his hand. "Thank you, big brother," she said formally, then darted in to kiss Justin's cheek, winking at him while his body shielded her from Harper's view.

_That's my Alex. Give her a limit and she pushes it._ She wasn't being too bad, though, honestly - and speaking of being honest, Justin wasn't entirely blameless, having taken the opportunity to cop a feel when they'd been in the ticket line and Harper had been in front and turned away. Not that he'd actually been able to feel much, between Alex's sweater and his own gloves, but that was beside the point.

As he'd been thinking about all this, Alex and Harper had started moving, bringing Justin along between them, keeping a nice, slow, steady pace, as if he were someone just learning to skate. They kept that pace for a minute or two, and Justin started to feel more secure in his skating again, but didn't let go of the girls' hands, instead enjoying being there with them, skating amongst the other couples and small groups on the ice.

_Harper's actually pretty pleasant now that she's not trying to force herself at me. _Justin glanced at her sidewise, was happy to see that she was smiling as well. _I wonder if she invited herself along just to have something to do. I wonder... Zeke and her are pretty similar in some ways. I should talk to Alex about -_

Alex said something then, and it took Justin a moment to process it, since he'd been lost in thought. _Something about how I seem to be skating okay now? _"Yeah... I think I've got my skate legs back."

"Well, that's good, because - tag! You're it!" Alex thwapped Justin's arm and immediately skated away, off to the left. Harper let go of him as well, braking suddenly and going left as well, toward the center of the ice. Justin responded by angling his left foot and pushing back hard, keeping an eye on the two girls while also watching the other skaters around him. It'd been a long time since he'd played skate tag with Alex, but he knew her habits at it well.

_She'll try to lose herself among people. But to avoid me, she has to know where I am. _Justin stayed low, both to let his legs push better, and to make it harder for Alex and Harper to see him, and moved into the thickest area of people he could. There, he slowed quickly, made a sharp turn, then another a few seconds later, pacing a group that was going by. As he did, he kept his knees bent, both to drop a few inches off his height, and keep his stability as he looked around, hoping to spot one of the girls.

_There._ Harper's chessboard coat stood out, and she wasn't looking toward him. Justin broke off from the group he was shadowing, heading behind Harper. Crossing her wake, he went a little toward the outside, then started an intercept course, readying his hand to tag her...

And then a hand grabbed the back of his jacket, and something cold went down it. Justin let out an 'Ah!' and tried to reach the snowball Alex had dumped down his back. As he did, Alex skated gracefully away, turning backwards to blow him a kiss as his no-longer-controlled trajectory took him into the wall and he fell down. Harper turned back around, and the two of them stopped about fifteen feet from him, both grinning as they high-fived.

"Nice job being obvious without being too obvious," Alex said, and Harper shrugged.

"It was easy, really. I mean, even I have to admit my designs aren't exactly inconspicuous."

Pulling at the back of his jacket, Justin got most of the snow out, then glanced back to make sure no one was coming - and then pushed suddenly with his foot against the wall and slid across the ice on his belly to grab both girls by the legs. "Double tag!" he yelled, and then the two fell down onto him, laughing as all three kept grabbing each other and calling out their tags.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, they were in a nearby café, Alex looking a little piqued as he sipped her hot chocolate. "They didn't <em>have<em> to throw us out."

"Well, we were becoming a bit of a safety hazard, there at the end," Justin said, sitting back and looking around them as his hot tea cooled.

Harper nodded, playing with making patterns out of the cream in her coffee. "And really, Alex, what did you expect to happen after what you called the guy at the rink? You're lucky they didn't put you on the list, like the people at Coney Island."

Folding her arms, Alex said, "I didn't have anything to do with that tent collapsing. They just blamed me because I was holding the rope." Justin and Harper both knew better than to respond to that, and after a moment, Alex uncrossed her arms. "Besides, I was getting tired of skating anyway."

Justin grinned. "Meaning you were losing, so you wanted to quit." He caught her hand, gave it a squeeze.

For a moment, Alex gave him an angry look, but then she stuck out her tongue. "Yeah, the guy who was on the bottom says _I_ was losing."

"Hey, it was two against one there, and -"

Alex grinned, raised an eyebrow as she interrupted. "- and you were just enjoying having two girls pinning you down?"

Justin colored and his eyes shot over to Harper, who made a scandalized gasp. "Alex! You don't say things like that to your _brother_!"

_Oh yes I do,_ Alex thought. _Just usually not in front of you._ Aloud, she said, "Sorry," rolling her eyes. "Didn't mean to offend his delicate sensibilities." As she did that, she peeled off her right shoe, using the toe of the left for leverage, then carefully extended her leg under the table, setting it on Justin's chair between his legs. Giving her best 'sweet little sister' look, she smiled at him. "Can you forgive me?"

Justin stiffened as he felt her touch and shot a sideways glance toward Harper. Seeing her looking down at her coffee, still playing with it, Justin looked Alex in the eyes. "Of course I forgive you," he said, at the same time pointing down to his lap with one hand, shaking his head slightly, and jerking his eyes toward Harper repeatedly.

Completely ignoring that, Alex slid her foot back and forth against him, smiling and tilting her head. "Of course you forgive me. Because I'm so forgivable. And you love me."

Justin's eyes widened a little, and he looked at Harper again. She looked up from her coffee, and Justin quickly - and unsuccessfully - tried to look normal.

"Look at that," Alex said, pointing at Justin with her spoon. "He's embarrassed to say he loves his sister. Can you imagine that?" Her foot was still rubbing, and she could feel Justin's body starting to react - in more ways than one, since he was starting to blush deeply.

"No! I just - I - uh…." Justin squirmed in his seat, and Alex reached for his hand, caught it before he could take it away.

"Come on… you can say it. I mean - you're taking me out for all this." Alex gestured around, then frowned. "Okay, so… there's not much to actually _see_ right now, but you know what I mean. Come on - help me out here, Harper."

Smiling, Harper put her hand on Justin's other one. "It's all right. You can actually say you love your sister in front of me."

Justin looked from Alex to Harper, then back, then closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Alex rubbed at him again, but he anticipated it this time, and managed to keep from stiffening up. Well, stiffening up in any way that would be visible to Harper, at least. "I love you," he said, and Alex grinned.

"There? Is that hard?" She asked, rubbing him again, then giggled as Justin shot her a look, biting back a retort. She knew she'd pay for all this later, but intended to quite enjoy her punishment from Justin.

Instead, he looked at his watch, then said, "Well, we need to get moving, if we're going to make our reservation on time." Getting up from the table, he moved around to pull out both Alex and Harper's chairs, using a hand for each.

"Reservation?" Alex frowned at him. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise, of course," Justin replied with a little grin. "But I think you'll remember it when we get there."


	4. Chapter 4

"Here ya are, kids." Burt's door opened, and Justin got out first, then turned to help Alex and Harper out. "See ya in a while. Just whistle when you need me," the old cab said, then closed his door and pulled out into traffic.

Alex looked up at the restaurant's sign, blinked, then turned to look at Justin with a puzzled frown. "Medium Rare? Why -"

"Well, you never _did_ actually get to eat dinner here," he replied with a shrug and a smile.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Harper put in, frowning. "I mean, after what happened last time..."

"Yeah, well..." Justin blushed a little. "That was my fault, really. And there's no one else around with a pocket elf right now, as far as I know."

Harper glanced at Alex, then back to Justin, raising one eyebrow.

"What?" Alex said, giving her an annoyed look. "It's not like I _always_ have magical contraband on me."

Justin tilted his head, considering Alex for a moment, then silently held out one hand. She glared at him, nose scrunching up cutely, and a quick staring contest ensued. Surprisingly, it was Alex who gave up first, giving out a loud sigh and handing her purse to Justin.

She flipped it open as she did, and Justin took it, reached inside, and immediately pulled out a crystal ball about an inch and a half across. For a moment, he frowned at it, and then he looked at Alex with the same eyebrows-raised expression as before. "You never know when you might need to check on someone," she said, crossing her arms.

"Uh-huh." Justin put that back into the purse, looked again, reached in again. This time his hand came out with a tiny voodoo doll, about three inches tall, with light brown hair. "Anyone I know?"

Turning her head away, Alex said, "I don't have to answer that."

Harper covered her mouth and made a cough that sounded a lot like 'Gigi', earning a dirty look from Alex. Justin held it for a moment, considering, then put it into the inner pocket of his jacket and put his hand back into the purse.

"Oh, come on," Alex said then, turning back to him and reaching for the purse. Justin handed it off to Harper, then moved between the two girls, grinning a little as he faced Alex.

Alex's eyes went open wide as Harper started to unzip the smaller pocket of the purse, and she shook her head quickly, pointing to Harper and mouthing 'no!' without speaking.

Justin raised an eyebrow, and then _his_ eyes opened wide in sudden understanding. Turning around quickly, he took the purse again and made a quick show of looking into the now-unzipped pocket. "Okay, looks like that's it," he said quickly, re-zipping it and handing the purse back to Alex. "Let's get on inside."

Inside, Medium Rare hadn't really changed at all since Alex had last been there... had it really been three years ago, now? The red walls with gold trim, the white tablecloths and black metal chairs, the bar along the left side from the entrance... and over there was the dessert cart that she remembered well, and at a table along the side, the chocolate fountain...

Alex looked away from that quickly, then smiled at the hostess as she approached. "Welcome to Medium Rare," the woman said, her tone carrying a sense of unutterable boredom. "How many are in your party tonight?"

"Three," Justin answered promptly. "I have a reservation. Justin Russo."

The woman's expression didn't change at all. "Russo... let me see..." She flipped a page in the book that sat on the podium-like stand there - and then she looked up, took in Justin and Alex's faces. "Did you say _Russo_?"

Alex thumped Justin in the back, trying to get his attention, but too late. "Yes," he said, nodding. "Russo. Arr-You-Ess-Ess-Oh."

The woman glanced down at the book again, then back up at them, then back down at the book, while Alex bit her lip. _Oh, hell. They remember. They're going to throw us out, or_..."

"Oh, here it is," the woman said then, her tone unchanged. "I see. It was for two people originally, but you called and changed it." Justin nodded again, but she ignored him, picking up menus from the stand. "There aren't any other changes, are there? A fourth person I should know about?"

"No," Justin said, and the woman nodded, then turned and began walking.

"Please follow me to your table for three, formerly two," she said as she moved, and at that, Harper and Alex exchanged looks, both fighting to keep from laughing.

At the table, Justin pulled out the chairs for the girls, first for Alex, then for Harper, before seating himself. "Okay, what was so funny?"

"I swear that's the same woman who was the greeter when we were here before," Harper said, shaking her head. "There can't be two people that bored!"

Alex leveled a finger at Harper and shook her head. "No - don't you remember the Maitre D' at the Hôtel Fleur du Blah du Blah du Fla-du Fla? _She _was bored even when we were swinging on the chandelier."

Harper let out a little laugh. "Oh, God, I'd forgotten all about that!"

Justin smiled and listened, letting the pair of them talk, when something caught his eye toward the back of the restaurant. The greeter was speaking to one of the waiters… and casting glances over at Alex as she did. Raising an eyebrow, Justin glanced at Alex and Haprer, noticed that they were still involved in their conversation. Under his breath, he muttered, "_Clairaudience_."

"- _all_ the chocolate," Justin heard the woman whisper, as clearly as if he'd been standing right next to them. "Don't ask questions, just do it." _Well, I guess they do remember her._

There was a light punch on his arm then, and Justin blinked, the spell dropping as his concentration was interrupted. "Hey," Alex said. "What's with you and the goofy grin?"

"Hmm? Oh, just a thought." Without thinking about it, he pulled his arm back, moving to twine his fingers with Alex's. She pulled her hand away before he could complete the motion, then raised her eyebrows for a fraction of a second.

Thinking fast, Justin turned the movement into picking up his fork and twirling it idly. "Service seems to be a little slow."

"Well, that's all right," Harper said. "I think I need to freshen up a little anyway." She pushed back from the table, then paused a moment, looking over at Alex… who had picked up her straw, torn the paper wrapper in half, and was now leveling the still-covered end at Justin, bringing the other end up toward her lips.

Harper frowned, then made an "Ahem" sound. Justin turned his head toward it, and Alex quickly lowered the straw. Half a second later, she realized that both Justin and Harper were now staring at her, both wearing frowns - Harper's annoyed, Justin's puzzled.

"What?"

Harper jerked her head toward the bathrooms. "I _said_, I'm going to freshen up."

Alex looked at her friend blankly. "Okay, and?"

With a long-suffering sigh, Harper grabbed Alex by the upper arm and pulled upward as she stood.

"Ohhh, and you want me to _come with_ you. Why didn't you just say so?"

Justin watched as the two of them walked away, letting his eyes drift to Alex's behind. _And what a cute little behind it is._ He smiled, tilting his head a little to the side, watching the way she moved.

"Is that your girlfriend?" a voice with a heavy Spanish accent asked.

"Yeah," Justin said, the smile still on his face. "My lovely, wonderful-"

"Oh, hey, _amigo_! I remember you!" the voice that had spoken said then. "I helped you do that joke on your sister! What was that, two years ago?"

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Okay, a short update, but hey... I'm updating again! Thanks go to Save Vs. Magic, whose beta skills gave me several improvements to this chapter. Go read his stuff. You'll like it.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Justin's first impulse was to stand and look around; to try to figure out where the all-too-familiar voice of the Spanish-language pocket elf was coming from. That, however, would draw exactly the attention he was trying to avoid, and he managed to stop himself with his thighs just a couple of inches off the polished mahogany seat of his chair.

"Oh, uh… hello," he said instead, speaking quietly as he lowered himself back into the chair. "Where - I mean, uh… what brings you back here?"

"A weezard, of course, señor! He's on a date with a sweet señorita - but not as sweet as your seester, hey? - and he wanted me to help him impress her. Because I am such the ladies' man, you know?"

Justin could practically hear the elf's eyebrows waggling up and down, and fought the impulse to roll his eyes. _ Yeah, he wants you to help impress her. Which is why you're over here talking to me._ Aloud, he put on his best 'I'm interested' tone. "Really? Where are they?" He slowly turned his head side-to-side, as if looking for the wizard, while actually concentrating on the sound of the elf's voice.

"Over there - at the bar, the man with the black hair, in the blue shirt. He didn't even think to make a reservation, so they have to wait there! Can you believe eet?" The man was easy to spot, and Justin frowned for a moment, looking at him. Something about the man looked familiar, but... For a moment, Justin chewed his lip, trying to place the man. _Looks to be in his mid-twenties, maybe. Probably a full wizard, at that age. Have I seen him in the wizard world, maybe? _As Justin watched, the man was drumming his fingers on the bar. A woman stepped up - a pretty redhead in a short white dress - and the man smiled brightly as he turned to look at her, the hand that had been drumming moving to take hers, squeezing it lightly. He stood partway up as the woman sat down, talking animatedly now, looking at her as if the rest of the world had vanished for him now.

That thought brought a little smile to Justin's face. _I wonder if that's how I look when I'm out alone with Alex. _ He pushed the thought away though, to look around again. There was no one there who should know them, as far as Justin could see. _All right. Just the elf to deal with, then. I can handle this._

* * *

><p><em>Why did Harper have to invite herself along?<em> Alex frowned at her reflection in the mirror for a moment, then opened her purse, brought out a compact, and began to touch up her blush. Harper was still in one of the stalls, taking her own sweet time, and Alex was tempted to simply leave her there, go back out and get a few seconds 'alone' with Justin.

_Mmm… God, I can't wait to be alone tonight, and find out what Justin has planned. I know he's been planning this for months. He's got to have something special up his sleeve. _She could already hear Justin's voice in her head if she came back without Harper, though: _Alex, what are you doing? Are you _trying_ to make Harper suspect something? _

She grinned then. _Actually, that's not a bad idea. Get Justin worked up with a little arguing. Because making up is always so much fun... mmm, maybe if I'm really bad, I can get him to spank me._ A warm pulse went through Alex, and a quick grin rose to her mouth. Nodding to herself, Alex folded her compact shut quickly - as quickly as she could without simply snapping it shut, since she didn't want to make a noise and draw Harper's attention to her slipping out - then started for the door.

And then, of course, the stall door swung open and Harper stepped out. "Alex? What are you -"

"Just throwing some tissues away," Alex lied, faking dropping something into the trash, using her body to shield the fact that her hand was empty.

"Oh, okay."

"Great," Alex said. "Are you done? 'Cause I'm really ready for some food." She gave Harper a little smile, then turned toward the door. Before she even took her first step, though, Harper's hand touched her on the shoulder.

"Alex… are you okay? I'm not sure what Justin was thinking, but really - taking you out to Valentine's dinner where you had that big scene with Riley? Not really one of his better ideas. If you want to talk about anything…?"

Silence hung for a moment as Alex blinked at the unexpected question. "Oh, it's fine." She gave an off-handed wave and smile. "I am _so_ over Riley it's not even funny. I don't know what I ever saw in him in the first place." Turning back toward the mirror, Alex tilted her head to the side a little and brushed her hair back, raised a hand to check her earrings. The Harper in the mirror had her head tilted to the left, her arms crossed, and an expression of deep disbelief.

"Okay, he was cute," Alex went on, rolling her eyes, "but we really didn't have that much in common. And he was _so_ dumb. You know what? You remember how I was failing Spanish to get him to pay attention to me? He kept failing Spanish even after we broke up!"

Harper tilted her head over to the other side and gave Alex a look. "So did you. In fact -"

"_Anyway_," Alex went on, talking over Harper, "he wasn't very bright. And that _hair_ - it looked like he was wearing a mop for a wig, you know?"

"You said his hair was hot -"

Alex turned back around and raised her hands into the air at shoulder level. "Oh, I said a lot of things. Like that I thought it was cool he was going to get a keychain with my name on it." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "He wanted to do his car chope-mmf!"

"Okay, Alex," Harper said, her hand over her friend's mouth. "I know you. When you keep rattling on like that, it means you're trying to hide something." Tilting her head forward, Harper narrowed her eyes as she took her hand off Alex's mouth. "So, spill, or I use the Look."

* * *

><p>Out in the main dining area, Justin was a little bit too busy to notice how long it was taking the girls to return. He'd finally located the pocket elf - or at least, he was pretty sure he had, since he still couldn't actually see it. But if he could trust his ears, it was on the table, somewhere close to the center, a little to the left of the little red candle in a glass chimney that the management had apparently decided was a good idea for Valentine's decoration. If he could just keep the elf talking for a few more seconds, he could be sure.<p>

"So, who's this wizard you're working for?" Justin set his arm on the edge of the table as he asked the question, making the move as casual as he could. _They're hard enough to grab when you can see them. Just hope he doesn't try to bite me or anything. Does the bite cause a chocolate craving even if the elf hasn't eaten chocolate?_ Justin didn't think it would, but he wasn't completely certain.

"He deed not tell me his name, señor," the elf answered, his voice suddenly dry. "Indeed, _señor_, I do not know your name either."

Justin blinked at that. "Oh… sorry. I'm Justin Russo. My sister is Alex, and -"

"Ah, so you _are_ Justin Russo. I thought so."

The voice was right behind Justin, and he turned with a startled "What!" - and almost fell off his chair. The older wizard from the bar smiled and put a hand out, steadying Justin's chair.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."

"I… I wasn't startled. Just a, umm… a defensive reaction," Justin said as he sat back up. He looked toward the table and grimaced. _Ten to one the elf has -_

"Don't worry about the elf. I was just using him to help confirm who you are."

"Who I am -" Justin cut himself off, shaking his head, then frowned curiously at the strange wizard. "Who are _you?_"

"There's no time to go into that," he answered, shaking his head. "Listen to me very carefully, because I'm not going to have time to repeat this. Alex is going to come out of the bathroom running in a panic. She's going to run out into the street and get hit by a car, unless you are outside to stop her. And then, once you've done that, you need to use this spell." The man held out a piece of paper to Justin. "I know this is hard to credit, but you have to believe me. We don't have time to waste."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

So, this was supposed to go up two weeks ago now, back on V-day. The universe did not agree with that, though.

But hey, better late than never, right? That's what I keep telling myself on these, at least. Life actually is starting to straighten out for me, though, and I'm hoping to be able to put up chapters more often soon, and actually make some decent progress on the current round of stories. We'll see.

At the least, plot bunnies have begun to seize my brain again, which is definitely a good thing.

By the way, I am reading and appreciating reviews, favorites, etc., even though I haven't been replying to them for a while. It helps remind me to come back to these, so keep it up!


	6. Chapter 6

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Alex tried.

Harper tilted her head back a little and opened her eyes wide. "Come on. Spill it, Alex. I've known something wasn't right for months. _First_ you were depressed over the breakup with Dean, but then you were over that _way_ too quick. I thought maybe you had a new boyfriend, but if you do, I don't know where you're hiding him, and -"

Suddenly, Harper broke off, her expression changing to one of sudden realization. "That's it! You're dating some kind of monster, and I haven't seen him because he doesn't even look human, and -"

"What?" Alex shook her head quickly. "You think I'd date some _thing_ I couldn't bring out in public?"

Suddenly on the defense, Harper bit her lip and frowned. "Well... it could be something like a centaur, with the human half handsome, and -"

"A _centaur_? Ewww!" Wrinkling her nose, Alex said, "They've got their sex parts in the _horse_ half, Harper! Beastiality is _not_ my thing!"

Harper took a step closer to Alex, crossing her arms as she did. "So what _is_ your thing? I know how you act with and without a boyfriend, and you're acting like with, but when you have a boyfriend, you show him off every chance you get. But you're not doing that, so I don't know what to think, except that you've got a boyfriend you can't show anyone for some reason. If that's not it, tell me what's going on!"

"Damn it, Harper!" Alex threw down her purse onto the floor, and it burst open, scattering a mixture of cosmetics and magical bits and geegaws across the golden tiles. "_This_ is when you pick to give me the fucking third degree?" she yelled, loudly enough that Harper flinched and stepped back. "I've been looking forward to this Valentine's Day with Justin for _months_, and it's not enough that you have to invite yourself along, but you also have to decide to grill me?" Alex was crying now, tears running down her face, and her mouth shut with a click as she realized just how loudly she'd been yelling.

As Alex went silent, though, Harper spoke. "Oh my god. You - Justin - why -" Tears welled up in Harper's eyes, and she tried to blink them away, but all she accomplished was to send them spilling down her cheeks.

Alex took a step toward her, reaching out for her friend. "Harper - I'm sorry. You know -" But Harper stepped away, shaking her head.

"No," she said, and her voice came out croaking, her throat suddenly feeling tight. "You - I can't -"

Suddenly, Harper turned and ran for the door, threw it open and kept running. Alex stood there for a moment, frozen in a mix of frustration and disbelief, and then ran after her, calling out, "Harper! Wait!"

* * *

><p>"What?" Justin goggled and shook his head at the older man. "Alex is going to -"<p>

"Die," the man interrupted. "Yes. I can't save her. You can."

Justin blinked, his mind reeling, but even as he did so, he was pushing back his chair and standing. He could see only two scenarios: First, that this man was telling the truth. If he were, then it was obviously imperative that Justin get outside, to be ready to save Alex. Second, that he was lying. But to what end? If he were a full wizard and wanted to do something to Alex, he could have easily disposed of Justin by other means. If he weren't, then this scenario hardly seemed designed to maximize his advantage...

_So, I don't go fully outside. Just go to where I can keep an eye on him, and see if Alex is coming running out like he said she would. _Justin headed toward the entrance and the coat room, glad he'd checked their coats. If nothing happened, he'd simply go there, and -

There were sounds of surprise from deeper back in the restaurant, and Justin turned his head to look, then had to dodge aside as Harper almost ran into him in her headlong rush out. "Justin! Catch her!" Alex yelled from somewhere further back in the restaurant, and he grabbed for her, but she was past him already, and his fingers closed on empty air.

Already keyed for action, though, Justin immediately broke into a run, dropping his weight down like a sprinter to get a better start. He ran out through the entryway, past the woman who had seated them, who stood at the greeter's podium looking down at a menu as if people ran out like this every day. He saw Harper hit the swinging door at the entrance running full-tilt, putting out her hands so they struck the bar, knocking it open wildly. It slowed her down a little, though, and now Justin was only a few feet behind her.

"Harper!" he called out as he smacked the door with his forearm on its swing back closed. "Stop!"

She didn't, though. She was trying to turn, to run south down the sidewalk, back in the direction of home, but there was fresh snow on the sidewalk, and she was moving too fast, and her feet slipped out from under her. Harper fell, then cried out as inertia caused her to go sliding into the street.

Justin saw the headlights of the oncoming car light her up, and he jumped into the air, aiming for the street lamp in front of him as he cried out "_Geilsjay Timesday!_" As he flew through the air, he pulled his right leg up, hoping in that split-second that the spell would work with him starting it with _neither _foot on the ground - a hope that was almost forgotten as Justin smashed into the light post face-first, letting out a yell at the feeling of the bridge of his nose breaking against it.

He slid down with his arms wrapped around the post, the yell trailing into a moan. As his left foot touched the ground, though, Justin gritted his teeth and turned his head to look where Harper had slid. She was frozen there, out in the street, and so were all the cars around her, and Justin closed his eyes for a moment and let out a thankful sigh that the spell had, in fact, worked.

With time stopped, there was no need to rush. Justin put his hand to his nose, then immediately regretted it as his fingers came away sticky with blood. _Okay, well... I'll live. Now, what the Aitch is going on here? That guy said that Alex was going to die... so why's Harper out in the street, while Alex is safe in..._

Justin frowned doubtfully, then tested his stance. Once he was sure his foot was solidly on the ground, he let go of the light post, then turned carefully around. Alex was there, caught between the restaurant doors in mid-stride, poised on the toes of her left foot like a ballerina. Putting one hand against the light post again for stability, Justin took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

He was still frowning, though, his mind racing. _Alex is okay, but Harper won't be if I don't do something about her. And maybe that's what happens to Alex - she runs out into the street trying to get to Harper and gets hit. If that guy wasn't frozen like the rest of the world, I'd go ask him. But right now..._

Letting go of the light post again, Justin took a careful hop toward Harper, then another. _How am I going to move her from there without putting both feet on the ground? Oh, right... why am I even hopping over there?_

Stopping, Justin put both hands out for balance for a moment. Once he was sure of his balance, he carefully pulled out his wand, aimed it a Harper, then whispered a well-practiced charm as he moved it, lifting her from street and moving her back onto the sidewalk. Realizing that she still had momentum, and would therefore begin sliding again as soon as he put his right foot down, Justin placed Harper so she would slide into him, gritted his teeth, then dropped the wand as he quickly crouched and planted both feet.

Harper immediately slid into him, knocking Justin off his feet and into a sitting position on the icy sidewalk. That, though, was exactly what Justin had planned - he had to absorb her remaining momentum somehow, after all. Harper let out a little scream and curled into a tight ball.

"I've got you. It's okay." Justin cringed mentally at how his voice sounded with the broken, bleeding noise, but kept talking. "Everything's all right, Harper. I've got you." As he spoke, Justin had his eyes on Alex, his body tensed to jump up after her if necessary, but she stopped right outside the door, looked around, and then came walking quickly over toward the two of them.

"Harper! Please, let me explain..."

Justin stood up, helping Harper up onto her feet as he did. "What happened?"

"I found out about the two of you!" Harper called out, pushing Justin away from her as she did. "My God, how could you do this?" Harper stamped the ground and glared at Justin, who blinked and shook his head, winced at the way that made his nose feel, then looked to Alex.

"You _told _her?" Justin held up both hands toward his head but did not shake it this time. "What - why - ahhhh - _Alex_!"

"I didn't tell her!" Alex snapped angrily. "She figured it out! And this is all _your_ fault, for telling me I had to let her -"

"_Oh_ no," Harper said, stepping between the two of them. "The two of you are _not_ turning this into a little spat that you can argue about and then have a nice hug after and whatever _else_!" She turned and stepped toward Alex, forcing her back as she went on. "You! Don't you ever think about _anyone_ but yourself! You are the -"

Justin grimaced as Harper tore into Alex. _Oh God... how did this manage to go this wrong? There's got to be some way to fix it, but..._ And then his thought process broke off as the man from before came out onto the sidewalk, and Justin headed for him immediately.

"You!" he said, raising his voice both out of anger and from the sheer necessity of doing so to be heard over Harper - and over Alex, who had started to argue back now. "You need to tell me what the hell is going on _right now_!"

"Of course," the older man said, calmly. First, though..." He drew out his own wand, waved it, and everything froze around the two of them - Harper and Alex included. "There. Now we can carry on a conversation without having to yell over the two of them." He turned his head to look over the two girls, and as he looked at them, his mouth curled in an uneasy grimace.

Ignoring that, Justin crossed his arms. "Okay, so... if you could do this, why didn't you? What did you need to involve me for? And why did you just tell me Alex was going to die, without saying anything about Harper?"

"Someone's manipulating the past - sorry, the past for me, the present for you. Harper wasn't supposed to come along on your date, the way things happened originally."

Justin frowned. "Wait, so... who's trying to change the past? And why? I mean, I'm pretty sure that killing Harper isn't their goal..."

The black-haired man shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

"Oh, right," Justin said with a nod. "Can't give me knowledge of the future, of course."

With a little chuckle, the man shook his head again. "No, that's not it. I just don't know." Justin tilted his head to the side and opened his mouth, but the man spoke across him. "I'm just a messenger. I was told what to tell you, and sent back. I can't tell you what I don't know."

"But... you're a wizard. Why couldn't you -"

"Because I _can't_." The man brought his hand up to his face. "Look, how can I explain this... you're _special_, you and Alex and Max. Normal wizards can't manipulate -" He stopped there, then shook his head again, bringing both hands up between them as he did. "You remember Evilini, right? How she wanted to take your power? Well, why do you think she wanted that?" Justin opened his mouth to answer, but the man kept talking. "It's because you're _powerful_. Even as just a student wizard, you're as strong as most full wizards. Maybe stronger. You think it's every student wizard who can change weather patterns over a whole city? Or who can divert an asteroid, even with three working together? And Alex - she -"

This time, it was Justin's turn to interrupt. "Whoa, wait - okay, what you're saying makes sense, but... what about TJ? He says really powerful wizards do magic without needing spells, and Alex and I -"

"TJ? Really?" the man snorted. "You trust what _he_ says? Think about it!" he said, making a sweeping gesture as he did. "Does Professor Crumbs go around doing magic without spells? Did Evilini? Sure, they _could_ - but they know better. Doing magic like that is... it's _sloppy_. It takes more power, and it's harder to control. You can't do major magic like that, and you're more likely to get unintended side effects! In fact -"

"Okay, okay! I believe you!" Justin held up his hands to stop the man. "Anyway, what I should really be doing is saying 'thank you.' I..." He paused and looked over at Alex and Harper, frozen in mid-argument. "I may not love Harper the way she'd like me to, but... thank you." Turning back to the man, he said, "And thank you for the explanation as well. I assume you're going to have to wipe my memory or something, now that you've told me this much?"

"Actually, no... you're going to have to do that. I'm just the messenger, remember - I can't alter anything directly here. That spell I handed you before - take a look at it, memorize it, then give me back the paper."

"Oh, right... where did I..." A moment's searching brought it out from Justin's pants pocket, and he unfolded the paper, then blinked. The spell was simple enough - just the two words _cerebellum erasus_ - but the handwriting... the handwriting was his father's.

"How did you - never mind." Justin handed the paper back to the man. "Even if you tell me, I won't remember it anyway." The man waved his hand, time restarted, and Justin said the words.

* * *

><p>When the man came back in, the red-haired girl slid from her stool and rushed over to him. She moved to hug him, grabbed onto him tightly. "Oh, God... Daniel, I was so afraid I wouldn't see you again." He let his arms go around her in return and squeezed tightly, letting the motion speak for him, not trusting himself to speak. After a moment, she pulled back and looked up at him, and he had to swallow at the redness of her eyes, the shiny traces around them where she hadn't quite gotten all her tears.<p>

"You did get it done, right?" She grimaced and bit her lip, then went on, saying, "I mean... it's not that I think you'd mess it up, just..." She swallowed, and Daniel took her in his arms again. She stiffened for a moment, then buried her face against his neck.

"I know. It... it takes time, for the timeline to repair itself. We have a little time, Mary." _I shouldn't have come back in,_ he thought then. _I -_

She spoke without moving her face away from him, her breath warm against his neck, and Daniel felt the warm, wet flow of her tears. "Will I remember you?" she asked, and the words were a sob. "When you're gone?"

Daniel shook his head. "I don't know. I'm sorry, Mary... I don't know."

Her arms tightened around him. "I... I love you, Daniel Russo."

"I love you too," he whispered, "Mary Beakerman. I'm glad we could save your grandmother. I..." He stopped, shook his head, then turned his neck, kissed her on the temple. She stiffened, and he frowned, then relaxed as he realized she was watching Justin, Alex, and Harper come back in.

He turned to see as well. Alex was smirking, almost preening as she held onto an annoyed Justin's arm. "Bet you fifty she got him to say it was his fault," Daniel whispered into Mary's ear.

She shook her head. "I'm not dumb enough to take that bet," she said, reaching to wipe at her eyes, and Daniel was relieved to hear her voice sound more normal. "It's weird," she said after a moment, "seeing them like this."

"Like what?" he asked, even though he was pretty sure he knew what she meant. _Keep her talking. Keep her mind off what's going to happen._

"You know - teenagers. Heck, they're younger than us right now. I mean... I've seen old pictures, but seeing them in the flesh like this..."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he said, nodding. "On the bright side, it made it a lot easier for me to not accidentally call him Grandpa." He toyed with his glass a moment, then shot her a grin. "I've gotta say though, your grandma was hot."

She rolled her eyes, then smiled when he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "It's a good thing for you that I love you."

"Yeah. Yeah, it -"

Daniel's wand buzzed, and he pulled it out automatically, thumbed it to read the message. Mary frowned and reached for it. "I can't believe you're checking messages at a time like -"

"It's from _him_. It says..." Daniel stopped as his eyes scanned through the message, his mouth hanging open.

"Says what?" Mary tried to move to where she could see, but couldn't quite get the right angle.

"It says... okay, there's a lot of technical terms, but, short version - I get to live." He grinned hugely, then picked up Mary and twirled her around. "We get to stay together! I love you!"

"Oh... oh!" Mary hugged Daniel hard, crying again, but this time smiling as she did. "Oh... this is the best Valentine's Day ever. Ever!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

... and next chapter, we'll be back to the plot-free fluff for a while!


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Intro:

Okay, so it's been a while. Honestly, post-divorce, this has been one of my more painful stories to work on, which is why it's moved so slowly the last couple of years. Things are getting better in my life, though - I've gotten some great new real-life friends, have lost about forty pounds, and am now literally in the best shape of my life. I'm getting ready to start dating again, and, more importantly for you guys, am starting to have fun with this story again!

Since it has been so long, this chapter is a bit strange. VC, like "Valentines" before it, was meant to be a series of related shorts. The first one ran a bit longer than originally intended, and the first section of this chapter is finishing it off. I'd thought about just leaving that V-day where I ended the last chapter, but I thought we should get a bit more of Justin and Alex in it. Following that, we'll have another little author's note to introduce the next sub-story, then it'll start.

Thanks to CleverForClever, for giving me feedback on the first draft of this chapter. Significant revisions resulted, which did not get run past him, so all typos, grammatical errors, etc. should be blamed solely on me.

And a shout-out to TheRhythmOfLove, to prove beyond any doubt that that really was me on Twitter!

So... ready? Here goes!

* * *

><p>"That was... a strange evening, even by our standards."<p>

"Yeah, well... we made it through, right?" Alex, nestled in against Justin in the back of the cab, put her left arm over his and squeezed lightly. "So no worries." With the two of them safely around the corner from having dropped off Harper, she sighed a little, enjoying the solid strength and warmth of him, then tilted her head backward and stretched up a little to kiss - well, she'd been aiming for his cheek, but it was really closer to his chin. "Having Harper along worked out a lot better than I thought it would, really. I don't think she suspected anything."

Justin shook his head, still wearing a frown. "I don't know. I can't shake this feeling that something that happened is going to come back to bite us. I just wish one of us could remember how we wound up outside at the restaurant."

Tilting her head back onto his shoulder, Alex looked up at Justin, then twisted and stretched, this time managing to actually put her kiss on his cheek. "Stop being a worrier. It was probably something to do with that pocket elf you found. Whatever it was, we made it through it. I'm sure you saved the day somehow or other. You always do."

"Yeah," Justin said, but there was no conviction in his voice. "I..." He stopped, swallowed, then turned his head to look down at his sister, putting his right hand on her cheek, simply looking down into those dark, sparkling eyes for a moment. "I love you." Alex smiled at that and started to answer, but Justin was shaking his head, going on. "Alex, I want to be able to take care of you. I want everything to be perfect for you. And - and I know you think I can fix everything, but there's some things I can't. The things that have been happening..." He paused, swallowed. "I don't know how we're going to work things out. I don't know what kind of life I'm going to be able to give you. I -"

"Justin." She said it quietly, but there was something serious in her eyes that stopped him. Alex moved her arns up and laced her fingers behind his neck, shifted to sit up higher as she pulled his head down, the top against her shoulder, the left side of his face against her breast. "Shut up."

He frowned at that, looking a little annoyed, then opened his mouth, but Alex put her fingers across his lips. "No. You listen to me for a change. You're trying too hard. You're thinking too much. I know you love me. I know you worry. But there's something else you need to know."

She paused a moment, taking her hand from his mouth, pulled him in closer. "I don't believe in a perfect world. We've got the world we've got, and we have to make it the best we can." She shifted down, put her face against his, cheek to cheek. "I'm in this with you. I know this whole situation is crazy. I don't know how we're going to make this work in the long run. And whatever we do, life isn't ever going to be perfect, but any life with you is better than one without you. I love you. You don't have to fix everything. You don't have to fix _anything_, and I'll still love you. Because I love you for _you_, not for what you can do for me."

There was a moment's silence - or at least, the best approximation that could be had, there in a running cab in Manhattan traffic. "You're crying," Justin said, turning his head, lifting a hand to brush fingertips gently across the streaks of tears on his sister's cheek. "Alex -"

He started to shift up, to pull away to get the distance to see her, but she gripped him more tightly, shaking her head. "Just - just stay here, please? This is one of those things you don't have to fix. It's okay. You're here, and I'm here, and I love you, and you love me, and maybe tonight wasn't perfect, but it's good enough. Okay?"

Justin hesitated a moment, and then snuggled back into her. "Okay."

* * *

><p>Author Note: This Valentine's Day is the first following the creation of Lexie (in <em>Double, Double, Toil and Trouble<em>); it happens about two months after the end of _Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics_. Lexie is living with their parents, who believe her to be Alex, while Alex and Justin are sharing an apartment.

February 14, 2012

"Alex! Are you getting up?" Jerry Russo rapped his knuckles loudly against his daughter's door (for the third time), the furrow between his eyebrows deepening as he considered whether to actually open the door and take more direct measures in awakening his middle child.

He was, in fact, reaching for the doorknob when an indistinct sound came through the door. For most people, it would have been a difficult sound to classify: it wasn't quite a moan of pain, but there was a definitely painful element to it. Not an immediate sort of pain, though - more like the sounds that might be made by someone suffering from a long, lingering illness. Someone who's learned to live with pain, whose expressions of it carry in them a certain weariness of it all.

Jerry, though, didn't have to carry out any such analysis: he knew that sound well, having heard it from his daughter pretty much every time he'd woken her up since she was ten. With that familiarity, there was also the knowledge that if Alex wasn't making actual words, chances were that she'd simply fall back asleep. So he rapped on the door again, more loudly. "Alex!"

He expected to hear the same tone again, simply with actual words carried this time, but instead he got a half-yelled, "YES! I'm getting up already!" The tone now was angry, and another sound followed, of something hitting the floor loudly. Jerry cringed a little. _Just be glad she's not Theresa. Or something would be _-

The thought cut off as he heard the sound of something breaking, and he cringed again. _Okay, so... she's on the _really_ unhappy side this morning. _His hand moved down toward the doorknob again, and then stopped. _It's Valentine's Day. And she's upset. Which means... which means Theresa should be the one to talk to her, not me._

Thus resolved, Jerry retreated rapidly to the stairs, casting another pained glance back as he heard something else breaking. "Honey," he called out as he came down into the living area, "I think you should talk to our daughter. She seems a little upset."

Max, sitting on the couch, tilted his head back and looked at Jerry upside down. "What's she upset about?"

"Can't you talk to her?" Theresa tilted her head toward the stove. "I'm in the middle of making breakfast."

"Uhh… I think it's boy troubles. Or lack of boy troubles. You know, with today being what it is…."

"Ohhh." Nodding, Theresa turned and headed for the stairs, handing the oven mitt off to Jerry as she did.

"Alex?" Theresa tried the door to Alex's room, found it locked. "Are you okay? Your father says you sounded upset."

"I'm _fine_," Lexie yelled back through the door. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Theresa called back, "You don't sound fine. Mija, if this is about today being Valentine's Day, don't worry. You'll find someone soon. You know what they say - it's like being an apple. The best one are the last ones picked. Or something like that." She paused a moment, waiting for a response. When none came, she said, "And anyway, Justin will do something nice for you. He always does."

The door flew open then, startling Theresa so she jumped back. Lexie stood there, her fists balled up. "No! No he's _not_! Not this year. He's -" She cut herself off and shook her head. "Never mind. Just… I don't want to talk."

"Mija…." Theresa stepped forward again, reaching for her daughter - and then Lexie was gone, in a sudden sparkling.

For a moment, Theresa stood with her mouth open, and then she snapped it shut, eyes squinting in annoyance. She strode to the stairs, then came down them quickly, practically stomping on each step. "Alex Russo! Don't you teleport away when I'm -"

She stopped as she saw that her daughter wasn't in the living room. "Didn't Alex come down here?"

"No," Max and Jerry said simultaneously.

Theresa stood for a moment, fuming a little, then shook her head and heaved a sigh. "Well, you're right about her being upset. I told her Justin would do something for her, like he does every year, and she practically took my head off."

"What?" Jerry blinked at that. "But he always…." He stopped, frowning. "You don't suppose Justin got a girlfriend?"

"And hasn't told us?" Theresa frowned. "But why…?"

"Of course he has a girlfriend," Max said, and they both turned and looked at him. He looked back at the pair of them, then shook his head, frowning. "What? Why are you both looking at me?"

"Has Justin told you something he hasn't told us?" Theresa asked, walking over to the couch and resting one hand on it.

"No," Max said, shaking his head.

"Then why do you think Justin has a girlfriend?" Jerry asked from the kitchen.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Theresa managed a strained smile. "If it were obvious, would we be asking you?"

Max tilted his head, apparently considering. "Is that a trick question?"

"No," Theresa got out, her smile getting more strained. "The answer is no. Now, tell us what makes you think Justin's got a girlfriend."

"Haven't you looked at his apartment when we've been there?" Max looked from his mother to his father and back, his expression mystified. "At how it's organized?"

Theresa let out a sigh, looking up toward the ceiling. "Max… Justin's always liked things neat and organized. You know that. Just because his apartment is clean doesn't mean he has a -"

"I _know_ that," Max cut in. "That's not it."

They both waited a moment for him to say more. "All right," Jerry asked, "what is it, then?"

"Look. I shared a bathroom with Justin and Alex my whole life. And the last time we were over there, when I went to the bathroom, the toilet paper roll was backwards. And when I asked for water, Justin looked in the cabinet, and there weren't any clean cups there, so he had to get one out of the dishwasher and wash it for me."

Jerry and Theresa slowly turned and looked at each other as Max finished. "His apartment isn't organized _enough_. Someone else is putting things away and putting toilet paper rolls out."

"I…." Jerry bit his lip, then nodded slowly. "I never thought I'd hear myself saying this, but I can't fault Max's logic. Justin must have a girlfriend."

* * *

><p>Even though his first class on Tuesdays this semester wasn't until eleven, Justin Russo was used to waking up early. So it was that he was wide awake at eight o'clock in the morning - but he was still in bed, laying with his eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of layers of covers and sheets in his inadequately-heated apartment.<p>

The bedroom was small - heck, the whole apartment was small, not even as big as the living area of his parent's home down at Waverly Place - but he didn't mind that at all. It was private, the rent was low, and while the neighborhood couldn't really be described as 'nice', the neighbors were good, hard-working, honest people.

All of that paled in importance, however, to what - or, rather, who - was next to him. Without moving a bit, without opening his eyes, he took in the sensations of her: first, the warmth of her, perfect against his skin, like a shower when you've got it adjusted just right, but one that could go on and on for hours. Her body curved against him, a gentle pressure that he felt all along his torso and across his arms - his right under her neck, helping to pillow her head, his left laying with bicep against her side, forearm across her belly, hand tucked in underneath, keeping her tight against him.

Her belly moved with the gentle rhythm of her breathing, and sometimes she'd make a little sound with it, not quite loud enough to be called a snore (okay, maybe it _was_, but Alex insisted quite vociferously that she _did not snore_, and Justin had learned not to say that she did. Even inside his own head). He lay listening to that sound, breathing in slowly and deeply, his nose buried in her hair. He'd never tell her, but this was when he liked her scent the best - early in the morning, before she'd had a chance to shower and put on any perfume. She hated it, thought she smelled gross then, but to Justin, the faint hint of womanly musk mixed with the tang of her sweat and the hint of vanilla that always seemed to be on her was a sweet, sweet scent. (He's long since given up trying to figure out where it came from - it wasn't any of her perfumes, and the times he'd asked her about it, she'd just smiled and preened a little. He suspected it was from some sort of spell, but he had to admit, even if it was, he certainly didn't mind.)

She moved a little against him, shifting her hips, and he took the opportunity to move his left arm, bringing it up and gingerly stroking her hair, so lightly that it was more just a touch than a stroke. She always slept soundly, but that never prevented him from being afraid that he'd wake her up if he moved too much. He finally opened his eyes, craning his neck up a little to look at her face. He looked at her a hundred times a day or more - and yet still, his breath caught and his throat tightened a little. "I love you," he breathed out, so quietly that it was more a movement of his lips than actual speech, and then he lowered his head to put a feather-light kiss on her temple.

At that, she shifted a little, and Justin caught his breath again, then relaxed as she stilled again, with just the faintest trace of a smile now on her lips. For a long moment, he just looked at her, and then finally, reluctantly, he raised his eyes to look at the clock beside the bed. It read 8:03, and he felt a moment's surprise - that was earlier than he'd thought it was, and usually his time sense was very accurate. That, though, was quite a pleasant surprise, since it meant that he could stay here a while longer, and -

There was movement in the corner of his eye, and Justin automatically looked toward it, then frowned. "Lexie?" he asked quietly. " Aren't you supposed to be in school right now?"

"Yeah, well... you know me. How often am I doing what I'm supposed to be?" She took a step closer to the bed, placing her more in the light. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, gathered on the right side of her face, and she was wearing a heavy jacket that was too big for her, a bright green scarf that clashed with orange mittens, and jeans.

"Are you okay?" Justin pulled his right arm out from under Alex - carefully, since she was still asleep. Sitting up, he held a hand out to her.

Lexie sat on the edge of the bed, ignoring the offered hand. She stared down at the covers and traced patterns with them on one finger. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just..." She paused a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know. Just didn't want to be at school."

"You say that as if you ever wanted to be at school," Justin said with a little grin. Leaning forward, he took Lexie's hand and gently pulled her toward him. "Come on. If you came here instead of going to school, something's up. So talk to me. Or we can wake up Alex, and you can talk to her, if that's what you're here for."

She shook her head, turning to put her face away from him, and pulled her hand away. "I don't want to talk. I just - I don't know why I came here. I'm sorry. I'm sure you've got a bunch of stuff you have to do today. I'll get out of your way." Quickly, Lexie stood up from the bed, reaching down to pull her wand from where she'd tucked it into her boot as she did.

"Don't -" Justin started, lunging up onto his knees to reach for her, but she was gone in a flash of light, leaving him with his mouth hanging open. After half a second, he closed it, shaking his head as he closed his eyes and gripped the bridge of his nose between two fingers for a second. "Okay. Great. Lexie's down, and being stupid about it. And on Valentine's Day. Yeah. And given the alternate-reality nature of her memories, I don't know what she is or isn't expecting from me. Just... fantastic."

He put his hand to his forehead and rubbed it for a moment, then sat back down. Chewing his lip, he absently stroked Alex's arm, then moved his hand up to run his fingers through her hair as he thought After about five seconds of this, it occurred to Justin that even Alex didn't normally manage to sleep through something like that... and besides, there was certainly no one who knew Lexie the way Alex did. _Yeah. As much as I hate to wake her early, I need to talk to her about this._ Putting a hand on her shoulder, he steeled himself for the possible explosion of cursing that might follow, and gave her a gentle shake, saying, "Alex... good morning, sleepy..."

There was no reaction. Justin frowned, gritted his teeth, and shook her a shade more energetically. "Hey. I need to ask you something." There was still no reaction, and Justin shook her again, even more this time. "Alex? Come on, wake up..."

She stirred a little pulling away from his hand, and Justin felt a little relief at that sign of life.

_All right, so... she's completely out of it. Wonder if she woke up in the night for a while and didn't want to wake me._ Alex had been having nightmares on and off since his accident a few months before, and often tried not to wake him up. He kept telling her to just get him up, but she was stubborn. _Well, whatever it is, I'll let her sleep. It shouldn't take long to track down Lexie and get her to talk._

He went to the closet and dressed quickly, throwing glances back at Alex as he did, not bothering to try to be quiet, in hopes that maybe she'd wake up. She hadn't. Instead, she'd curled a bit inward, into more of a fetal position, and her brows were scrunched in, her face tight. _She feels that I'm not there. Dammit... if I leave her like this, she'll have a nightmare, and then freak when she wakes up and I'm not here. And knowing Alex, she won't even look for a note, she'll just take off looking for me._

Justin took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. _All right. I hate doing this sort of thing, but if it'll keep Alex from having a nightmare..._ Standing up, he made a complex gesture, intoning "_Edgebono Utoosis_." A duplicate of him shimmered into existence, on the bed behind Alex, already under the covers. He smiled a little at that, nodding at how well he'd managed the spell without wand, even getting the duplicate positioned exactly as he'd meant.

Bending down, he tapped his duplicate on the shoulder. The duplicate blinked a couple of times, then looked at him, glanced down at Alex, returned its gaze to him. "Yeah?" he whispered.

Also whispering, Justin replied. "Keep Alex warm. Let her sleep. If she wakes up, pretend you're still asleep. I should be back in half an hour at most. Got it?"

The duplicate nodded, and Justin started to stand up, then grimaced as he thought about what day it was, and what Alex would likely try to do to wake him up. Bending back down, he looked his duplicate straight in the eyes. "And you are _not_ to have sex with her. Tell her you're feeling sick, whatever. Just do not have sex with her. Do you understand?"

He nodded again, and Justin stood up, not really satisfied, but not wanting to delay longer. _Now, where's Lexie going to go when she's upset and doesn't want to go to school? _For a moment, he frowned and tapped his chin, and then he smiled. _Right_, he thought, then picked up his wand, circled the tip in the air, and was gone.


End file.
